Rishi Sapra
Rishi Sapra
RIshi Sapra

Let’s Make Data Work for You

Hi, I'm Rishi!

After getting a first class degree from the London School of Economics, I spent the first decade of my career in the Big 4 and some of the big banks in London - qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, working at Deloitte and KPMG, doing stints at HSBC and Barclays. But I kept getting pulled toward a question that frustrated me: why are finance teams spending hours on manual work that technology could fix in minutes?

That question changed my career.

I went from building daily P&Ls in Excel to automating processes, from financial modelling to Power BI, from standalone reports to enterprise data platforms. Today I lead “AI for BI” projects at Avanade (the Accenture-Microsoft joint venture), helping large organisations modernise how they work with Data and Generative AI agents.

I'm also one of the few people formally recognised by as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). That means I work directly with Microsoft's engineering teams, get early access to new features before they're released, and help shape the direction of tools like Power BI and Fabric. It's not a certification — it's recognition for contributing to the technical community and helping others learn.

MVP

Microsoft Most Valuable
Professional (MVP)

icaew

Chartered Accountant (ICAEW)

Microsoft MCT

Microsoft Certified Trainer
(MCT)

I believe finance professionals and data practitioners need to shift from being consumers of technology to creators of solutions. Too many teams wait for IT to build something for them, when they could be building it themselves — telling their own story with their own data.

I also believe the fundamentals matter more than the features. Tools change every week. But knowing how to structure your data, how to gather requirements from stakeholders, and how to tell a story that drives decisions — those skills don't change. Master the foundations and everything else becomes easier.

And I believe learning should be practical. Watching tutorials isn't the same as building something real. That's why all my training uses real-world scenarios and includes hands-on application — because the gap between sample datasets and your actual data is where most people give up.
I run Learn Data Insights (LDI) — an ed-tech company helping finance professionals and data practitioners master the Microsoft data stack through practical, scenario-based training.

Under LDI, I operate two specialist training brands:

→ Power Platform Finance — for finance professionals who want to master Power BI. Cohort-based training using finance data and real scenarios like Income Statements, variance reporting, and automation in a Power BI month-end board pack. Includes coaching support to get you through the hard parts when you apply it to your own data.

→ Microsoft Fabric Training — for Analytics Engineers who want to go deeper into the modern Microsoft data platform. Covering medallion architecture, data engineering, semantic models, and everything you need to build enterprise-grade solutions in Fabric.

Both programmes combine interactive e-learning with live instruction and hands-on labs — because I've seen too many people learn concepts from videos and then get stuck the moment they try to apply them.
I speak at global conferences including FabCon and SQLBits, as well as for organisations such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW), GrowCFO and technical community user groups around the world.  

I sit on the ICAEW Data Analytics Community advisory committee where I help shape the intersection of accountancy and data analytics/AI.

I'm passionate about sharing what I've learned — whether that's through training, conference talks, or conversations with others in the space.

Want to learn more?

Explore the podcast episodes below to learn more about who I am and what I do!

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Past Events

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18 Nov

Devon and Cornwall Microsoft Power BI User Group - Navigating the journey from Excel to Fabric (and back again!)

November 18, 2025    
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Navigating the journey from Excel to Fabric (and back again!) For decades, the entire business world has been built on the flexibility and power of [...]
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ICAEW London & South East – Practice Bitesize Event

ICAEW London & South East – Practice Bitesize Event

October 23, 2025    
8:30 am - 10:15 am
Designed for sole and small practitioners, this thought-provoking morning featuring three inspiring speakers delivering short, focused sessions packed with practical strategies and insights for sole [...]
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Top tips for financial reporting with Power BI and MS Fabric (Plum Solutions)

Top tips for financial reporting with Power BI and MS Fabric (Plum Solutions)

October 16, 2025    
9:30 am - 10:30 am
If you’ve come across Power BI/Fabric, you might be wondering whether the Copilot-driven storytelling and automation capabilities are what you need to propel your finance [...]
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Rishi Sapra